Edwards - Business Beyond Business

Copyright 2019 Paul Edwards

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ISBN 978-1-949535-57-0

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Business Beyond Business

Who Am I?

Think of the most exciting, interesting project or rewarding privilege youve recently experienced. Maybe you could even say it out loud you won a big account, your online business is booming, youve met powerful people who want to help you, or you just booked the family trip of a lifetime. This is the kind of moment you just cant wait to share with others.

Perhaps, the first time you announce it, your friends and family celebrate with you. Maybe you even throw a party or invite everyone around for drinks. After a while, however, the excitement fades and youre back in your day-to-day humdrum. This is where we spend probably 95% or more of our lives, just living out the routine each small decision we make compounding over time, like interest.

One day, however, someone can be bothered to ask you a question that sends you skyrocketing back to your initial high: Whats going well for you lately? Before you know it, youre back on Cloud Nine, gushing about all the progress youve made since that day. All the hard groundwork youve done to kick off the project, or all the exciting new people youve met on the staff of the new account youre managing.

It might even get beyond the excitement. Perhaps, in the interim, youve been blindsided by a hundred new difficult realities. You could be going through the affliction of assuming a chief executive role, or senior leadership where you feel like an embodiment of the Peter Principle. You feel like you must fake it till you make it. Its killing you inside. If anyone knew how you felt, there could be hell to pay. But someone asks you, without judgment or even the slightest impression of critical intent Whats not going so well for you lately?

Or, youre just tickled pink; you have short-timers syndrome as you pack bags for a wild trip to the South Pacific, a backpacking sabbatical in Europe or a safari in the plains of Africa. Youre bursting at the seams, you can feel the anticipation and someone asks you, What are you looking forward to?

Now youve found your feet at the 3- to 5-minute mark of meeting me. I could have just written, Hello, my name is Paul Edwards, but that name didnt mean anything to you before you opened this book. It might not mean much to you after reading it. In the grand scheme of things, its not that important.

People like you dont read books like this to find people like me. Its likelier that something in the title or the way I present myself made it intriguing. If thats the case for you, welcome to the world of Business Beyond Business.

Okay, fine. But what do I do?

This is another question that used to be so much easier to answer. Truly, weve entered a new era. I suppose I could list it under the different ways I express myself author, copywriter, blogger, podcaster and interviewer, but a close friend of mine told me he purposefully started a business under the most generic name possible, so no one would conflate the substance of what he did with the man himself.

Thats an interesting angle. Was it entirely correct? In his case, yes. Is it always entirely correct? Of course not. You cant separate the Oprah brand from Oprah Winfrey, and itd be tough to think of McDonalds without Ray Kroc or Microsoft without Bill Gates. The point is, I dislike categorizing myself under the occupational duties of my business. Frankly, theres a ton of diverse history, culture and experience that forged it all together so I dont stand among the crowd that believes ones character is represented solely by ones actions.

What I do has a strong parallel with my background, thats for sure. Ive lived in five different countries and hold three passports. Im a Caucasian, Spanish-speaking immigrant to the United States with ancestral ties to members of the Gamlingay Baptist Church founded by John Bunyan in Cambridgeshire, England. Im the first generation of my family born and raised in North America. Im an evangelical Christian of 17 years, at time of writing, married with two sons.

Im an extroverted introvert whos fantasized my entire life about being on stage, performing in front of huge crowds and speaking words that inspire them. Ive had stars in my eyes for as long as I can recall. Im an Iraq veteran and a college graduate and I wouldnt trade either experience, but neither legacy has proved useful for me in terms of procuring a good income. I didnt find traction when I tried to be systematic and go the socially approved routes bequeathed by preceding, postwar generations. (This is a roundabout way of saying Im unemployable.)

Have you ever met someone with all the qualities and abilities of a coach, but not the title? Ditto for other roles where theyve not passed the bar, taken the exams or done the internship yet they converse and sound as though they have! I often thought President Barack Obama sounded very pastoral and reassuring in his speeches, though he never attended Bible college. I suppose its worth pointing out that the Pharisees made the same observation about Jesus Christ himself How does this man know so much, when he has never been to school? (John 7:15). (This book needed at least one offensive passage Ill have a good laugh at the hate mail accusing me of comparing President Obama to Jesus).

In other words, I have too many distinct and irregular influences and traits to simply say, Im a connector. My experience came in grinding through six years of networking, trade shows, community events, nonprofit boards and one tireless appearance after another as an insurance salesman in Olympia, Washington. It goes back even further than that, to my days living as an apprentice to a retired quadriplegic multimillionaire, Andrew Magliolo, in Santa Monica a master at persuasion, sales, and relationship-building.

That began a journey of new habits, including self-reflection and a love of philosophy, self-improvement and discipline. As a Christian, it sparked a love of Biblical devotion in 2005, a habit now in its fourteenth consecutive year with little to no interruption. My faith survived a harrowing trial earlier in this decade, but in 2017 it finally began ripening, with a special emphasis on the power of